Back to China again; IAWE conference in Hong Kong and Guangzhou (Day 3-2)

First of all, I would like to thank the kindness of all my friends in/from China. Without their help, this "fun" trip would not have been possible!

Nice to be back in China! This is the China side of Shenzhen Bay immigration. The procedure was efficient and speeedy, and the immigration officer actually smiled at me!

It's always nice to be back in the familiar world of Mandarin in Shenzhen, coming from the strange Cantonese environment of Hong Kong. Shenzhen is a predominantly Mandarin-speaking city, despite its location in Guangdong and proximity to Hong Kong. I'll write a separate article about the language situation in Pearl River Delta later.

Another reason why I feel a sense of relief being back in China may have to do with the orderlyness or otherwise. Hong Kong is very much like Japan, where everything is squeeky clean, orderly and done according to the rules. While it's nice, it may give somewhat suffocating feeling to someone who has lived in Taiwan for so long! I always feel relieved when I arrive in "chaotic" Taipei after being in Japan for a while. Entering China from Hong Kong, or going to Johor Baru from Singapore for that matter, gives me a similar feeling. 

Our nice coach belongs to Hong Kong side, judging from the side of the steering wheel.

Everything in Shenzhen is new and shiny. I like old cities, but SZ is interesting in its own way, because it is unlike any other city in China. This time, though, we had to bypassed it.

When we passed by Dongguan, which is known as "Little Taiwan", I tried to look for any traces of Taiwan from the window of our coach, but could not find any, except the fake Mickey on a kindergarten wall.

Guangzhou, here we come!

Gangnam style in Guangzhou. Before this, they were dancing to salsa and Hindipop tunes! Globalization...

A huge mass of people dancing in the park really reminded me that I was in China! Thanks, Wendy and Xiao-wan, for taking me around.

Thanks to Wendy and Xiao-wan, I finally arrived at Sun Yat-sen University, my destination. Rather different from my expectation... I mean, I didn't expect hundreds of people dancing Gangnam style in front of its gate.

It would be nice to take a cruise on Pearl River.

Yes, this is the kind of Guangzhou thing that I wanted to experience. A restaurant row near the Small North Gate of SYSU. I would not have been able to find it without Wendy and Xiao-wan taking me there.

Luckily, it was not as spicy as it looked. Perhaps Xiao-wan wanted it spicier! She's from Vietnam.

Teppan-tofu. I didn't realize it was a Cantonese dish.

Of course, we got to eat a lot of fresh veggie.

The streets in the area where I stayed was not glossy like Shangri-La area, but were wide, clean, and bright. The roads were evener and tidier in general than Taipei. Maybe thanks to the clean-up before the Asian Games?

It's amazing to witness how fast big cities in China advance. When I first went to Shanghai in 1997, Pudong, which is now full of futuristic skyscrapers, was just a pile of mud. There was no linear motor car from the airport then, so I had to be careful not to be ripped off by tricycle drivers (but I still was). People could tell me immediately that I was from overseas from the way I dressed. Quite a few men were still wearing Mao jacket back then. Some toilets were starting to have doors, but it still did not occur to some people that they could close them.

Of course, I'm happy about the development of China. But I somehow also miss the days when visiting China was such an adventure. Really, not one day passed without an incident which really blew my mind. Both good and bad, but maybe more bad.

Thanks to the recommendation by Amy, one of the exchange students from China in my class, I chose to stay at 7-days Inn. One of the reason why this hotel chain can keep the prices so low is because they choose locations that are hard to find. But it does not mean that they are in inconvenient locations. There was this Family Mart near my hotel, which reminded me of Taiwan. (On the other hand, Seven-Elevens and Circle Ks in Guangzhou are more like those in Hong Kong.)

At this Family Mart, I often spotted many foreigners, who appreared to be from Africa and Russia. The guy in the shop spoke very good English. But he spoke to me in Cantonese.

It seems that Cantonese is the first choice for convenience stores in Guangzhou. Perhaps because it gives a Hong Kong kind of feeling? (Read my post on the robustness of Cantonese.) 

This room for RMB157! Well worth it. Such a far cry from the disgusting room in Hong Kong which was for HK$280 per night! (It eventually became HK$480 per night because they charged Alan HK$200 for the no-show the first night...)

Because otherwise, I found the prices of things quite expensive in Guangzhou. I felt the food in restaurants and other things in the convenience stores much more expensive than in Taipei. Later, I learned that properties in Guangzhou can actually be more expensive than those in Taipei. So the price at 7-days Inn is even more surprising. 

Facilities were very clean. There was abundance of hot water for shower. (This can be a problem for cheap hotels in many countries.)

Internet was OK, except that Gmail and Facebook were slow (due to the Great Firewall?).

Hot water for making tea is a must for Chinese travellers anywhere.

Towels were very clean and changed everyday.

As usual for hotels in China, there was a price list of equipments in the room for those who wanted to take them home for souvenirs. It included, as usual, prices for things like toilet lid and the map for emergency evacuation.

I was able to sleep well that night.

Before departure to China: IAWE conference in Hong Kong and Guangzhou (Day 3-1)

I woke up early in the morning to take a stroll in the public park behind Alan's house. I think the Brits did a good job in planting trees all over Hong Kong. Across the border in China, many hills are just bare rocks. Those in Hong Kong must have been the same, since they share the same climate, and they are just a few kilometers away from each other. The vegetation can't be that radically different.

The park has Chinese herb gardens and walking trails with Chinese qigong and 養生 theme. It is very tastefully done, and far better than fake Euro-Japanese style often seen in Taiwan. 

Hong Kong style, early morning. I saw some old Indian ladies practicing taiji. The old taiji master spoke English. He must have taught many non-Chinese Hong Kong residents.

This is the building in which Alan's flat is.

Don't know which flat, though...

At the top of the hill in the park, there is this pavillion. I did my morning prayer there.

Down the hill towards Chinese herbal garden.

Despite the fact that the important highway connecting the international airport with the city center was right behind the park, it was very quiet there. It was a very nice park, and I think the government of Hong Kong is doing a very good job designing and maintaining public spaces. I wish Hakone-yama in Shin-okubo was as nice as this one...

 

After a healthy morning stroll, unhealthy breakfast. At a tea house underneath Alan's flat.

That tutorial center famous in Manila was also here. Not a single Chinese word written in all of the tutorial centers I found in Alan's flat, reminding of English-medium education in Hong Kong. They spelt "math" the Philippine way! (It should be "maths" in the Hong Kong style.) Could many tutors be from the Philippines, as in many other countries?

Despite the fact that teaching model in Hong Kong schools is still the RP, I noticed that more and more children there are sounding rhotic. Could this be Philippine influence? Although the Hong Kong presenter I met at the conference denied the possibility and attributed it to American influence through the media, it is still true that those kids in Hong Kong get most exposure to English through their Philippine yayas.

 

Every year, the same lunch at the City U! I skipped the western style lunch provided at the conference and went to Festival Walk to eat this. I feel that the price of food in Hong Kong to be about the same level as Tokyo.

At the back gate of the City U, awaiting coach to China. Coaches in Hong Kong and China looked much more trustworthy than those we see here on Taipei roads, at least on the surface. No amateurish paintings of fake Donald Duck and Doraemon next to a Chinese fortune god, nor unpronouncable Chinese transliterations, different on the both sides despite the same Chinese name, on the body.

Now, off to China! Professor Moody of Universidade de Macau explaing the immigration requirements. People were wondering why on earth only the Japanese and Singaporean passport holders were not required a visa, when even those Macau residents holding US/European passports needed one. I felt the strong link between Japan and the People's Republic, despite all the recent fuss.

Xmas decorations in Hong Kong: IAWE conference in Hong Kong and Guangzhou (Day 2-2)

I realized that it is not safe to write long articles with lots of photos when the Internet connection is not stable. So I'll just quickly upload some photos.

At Festival walk

At Heritage 1881. Long queues of Chinese tourist in front of brand shops.

Heritage 1881 at night.

Harbour City. I think the one last year was much more beautiful with blue and white lights.

The must.

Festival Walk again. Jellyfish hanging from the ceiling. (I'll figure out later how to turn around the photo.)

The tree at HK Disney. Try turning around your screen.

At the back of Disney Hotel. There was a wedding. The bride looked cold.

Actual houses in HK are slightly larger than this.

Back at City U: IAWE conference in Hong Kong and Guangzhou (Day 2)

When I woke up, I was in one of the first housing tower blocks visitors to Hong Kong witness on the way from the airport to the city.

Lantau island is full of nature. Good hiking trails and pristine beaches (no kidding).

Lantau island has a large South Asian community, and thus there are good Indian restaurants. But in the interest of time, the breakfast had to be at Fairwood...

Lunch was much better. And free as well! Enjoyed conversation with scholars from Singapore, India and China attending the conference.

I will write a separate post about the conference itself later. I just want to get done with all the photos I took first, before years pass.

City U not only is connected to a mall, the university campus (can it be called so?) itself looks like a mall, with indoor concourses and escalators and stuff.

The tuition fee is very expensive, so the most students are from affluent families in mainland China. Most courses are monolingual in English.

The Christmas tree of the mall connected to the City U. Reminded me of SM in Manila.

I love all the road signs in Hong Kong. So clear and systematic. Not many cities in the world do a better job.

My usual stop in Tsim Sha Tsui when I don't have time to attend mass in the morning. They use the same missal as in the Philippines.

I forgot to bring my phone on this day, but saved by the free phone at Mariner's Club and the fact that I remembered the phone number of Alan, which has not changed since I first met him in my student days.

The Christmas decoration at Heritage 1881. Most people there were rich tourists from mainland China.

My usual postcard shot from Star Ferry Pier.

Sat on the wrong side of Star Ferry, on the way to Wanchai to meet up with Alan.

This is the classy mall in which we celebrated Alan's mother's birthday. But even in such posh places, you see some Sanrio characters. That's Hong Kong.

Late night, Alan and I stuffed ourselves at Fat Kei.

Very nice, but also quite expensive compared with Taiwan standards. Not many people would pay NT$200 for dessert alone except for tourists. But this wasn't a touristy place.

Better than 5-star hotel: IAWE conference in Hong Kong and Guangzhou (Day 1)

I went to Hong Kong and Guangzhou to attend the World Englishes conference. Because I was not able to get the grant, I did not have enough budget to stay at a hotel. So I stayed at a friend's house. With this view from the veranda of Alan's room, I think it is better than a 5-star hotel.

Not only that the view from the veranda is magnificent, the interior design, which Alan did himself, is also very tasteful. Thank you, Alan, for letting me stay in your beautiful house!

The vegetarian Indian meal on Cathay Pacific was not enough to fill me up, so I had a snack at a convenience store. Ribena reminds me of my days in England. But not the 咖哩魚蛋.

I felt that the things in the convenience store were roughly four times more expensive than those in Taiwan. The living expenses in Hong Kong seem to be higher than those in Japan.

Alan and his wife Jill taking a late night (early morning?) stroll in the nice park in front of their house. The park was squeaky clean and reminded me of Tokyo or Singapore. Only the next morning did I realize that the park was done very tastefully with a Chinese 養生 theme. (I will introduce that later.)

I was dead tired after a crazy work day that started in Taoyuan-Taipei-Taoyuan, so I went to bed at 1am. (Very early in Hong Kong standards? But way past my usual bedtime.)